In the English League Cup, Manchester City had a widely rotated team and still had too much for second-tier Watford, despite playing just two days after a fierce Premier League encounter against Arsenal.
Tuesday’s third-round action saw City defeat Aston Villa 2-1, with goals in the first half coming from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes at Etihad Stadium. Premier League teams Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Leicester also advanced.
Christopher Nkunku scored a hat trick and celebrated by blowing up a blue balloon and putting it between his lips as Chelsea crushed fourth-division Barrow 5-0. After a 0-0 draw at fourth-tier Walsall, Leicester prevailed 3-0 in a penalty shootout, while Villa won 2-1 at Wycombe, the third-tier team.
The competition’s final 32 will be divided over two midweeks to make room for the expanded Champions League and Europa League. Liverpool and Arsenal play on Wednesday. Last week, teams that advanced were Manchester United and Tottenham.
2018 saw City win the League Cup four times in a row under manager Pep Guardiola, who stated he won’t be taking the competition seriously this season and will instead use the games to teach some of his bench players some rhythm.
He declared, “We definitely won’t waste energy on this competition.”
Doku and Kyle Walker were the only two Man City players to start the thrilling 2-2 draw against Watford and Sunday’s matchup with Arsenal. In the fifth minute, the Belgium winger gave his team the lead by scoring from just inside the box after City had capitalized on a misdirected back ball.
With a low, left-footed effort, Nunes added the second goal in the 38th, marking the Portugal midfielder’s first goal since signing from Wolverhampton in the 2023 offseason.
Watford’s Tom Ince, son of former England midfielder Paul Ince, scored in the 86th minute.
In addition, Chelsea changed up their starting lineup, making eleven changes from the squad that began Saturday’s 3-0 victory over West Ham.
By the fifteenth minute, Nkunku had already scored twice, and in the seventieth, he completed the score. Between was an own goal and Pedro Neto’s tap-in to score Chelsea’s first goal.
In addition to Emi Buendia’s first goal in the 55th minute, Colombian forward Jhon Durán added the team’s second goal in the 85th minute, scoring from the penalty spot. Durán has had an incredible start to the Villa season.
This season, in five league games, the 20-year-old Durán has scored four goals—all coming off the bench.
It was in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Wycombe found solace.
Walsall took their Premier League opponent to penalty kicks at home, but was unable to complete an upset victory over Leicester.
To end the shootout as soon as possible, Walsall missed its first three efforts, while Leicester successfully converted all three of its penalties.
